Ray Manzarek/Roy Rogers: Translucent Blues (Blind Pig)

Graham Reid | Aug 7, 2011 | 1 min read

Ray Manzarek/Roy Rogers: River of Madness

Given his organ playing was such an integral part of
the Doors' sound, it's surprising Ray Manzarek's subsequent four decade
career has garnered so little attention, although to be fair it has
thrown up few decent albums.

I recall trading in his Carmina Burana within a week of getting it in the early Eighties and just last month I paid $5 for a vinyl copy of his '73 Golden Scarab and on playing it felt a little over-charged.

Here however, again with singer/writer/slide
guitarist Rogers and a small band, he reaches towards some late peak
in blues-rock material which has a sense of urgency and includes
co-writes with the poets Michael McClure and the late Jim Carroll,
and the late Warren Zevon (on the bitter-sweet River of Madness
about Los Angeles, with a beautifully weird Middle Eastern passage
between the grit-rock).

Doors fans won't be disappointed (Game
of Skill and New Dodge City Blues shave off a little of
Love Her Madly and others are
akin to theirroadhouse
blues) but the real meat here lies in Rogers razor-edge
playing, the blues grooves (the Booker T-like An Organ, A Guitar
and a Chicken Wing), the drugged darkness of Kick (the
McClure co-write which is cocaine-induced jazz-noir) and the
cinematic, 2am instrumental As You Leave.

Some of this (Blues in My Shoes,
Greenhouse Blues which is silly but in
Mose Allison's mould) is only elevated by the playing because vocally
neither of them would get past the elimination round of American
Idol.

So not the most essential album, but if you saw them at a
club gig you'd happily pick up a copy afterwards.

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